Humiliating defeat, Klopp insensitivity said ‘bitter words’

Coach Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool played passively, fortunately, did not concede more when losing 1-4 against Man City in the 29th round of the Premier League.

“To win at Man City, 14 or 15 players have to be at their best and that didn’t happen today,” Klopp said after the game at the Etihad. “We had a chance to close the gap to 2-3 with Andy Robertson’s breakthrough. Except that, Man City can do what they want because the gap is too big, so we are lucky they are. only scored one more goal”.

Liverpool started well when they went up in the 17th minute thanks to Mohamed Salah’s forte left foot. With 56 goals, the Egyptian star surpassed Michael Owen to become the most Liverpool player to score away from home in Premier League history. In the 26th minute, in Liverpool’s counterattack, Salah stretched for Diogo Jota to be empty in the penalty area, but Jack Grealish promptly stepped back to save it.

A minute later, it was Grealish who stretched for Julian Alvarez to equalize 1-1 for Man City. In the second half, De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Grealish respectively scored to help the host extend the winning streak in all competitions to seven matches.

A controversial situation appeared in the first half when Rodri blocked Diogo Jota to prevent Liverpool’s quick counterattack and received a yellow card 33 minutes later, the Spanish midfielder fouled Cody Gakpo a minute later but received no further punishment. punish. Liverpool players surrounded referee Simon Hooper and reacted furiously.

However, Klopp refused to blame the referee, adding that Liverpool was not playing well enough. He said: “Does Rodri deserve a second yellow card? Maybe. But I’m not sure Liverpool can win against 10 Man City players.”

According to Klopp, only four Liverpool players played well in this match, including Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Cody Gakpo, and goalkeeper Alisson Becker. The German coach commented: “There is nothing good to ᵴɑү about this match. Unfortunately, this is a match that we have to use to clarify the impossible. We cannot contest a duel. in key areas. We couldn’t leave that many gaps. It was impossible, but it happened.”

Since the start of 2023, Liverpool has lost five of their 10 Premier League matches – more defeats than last year, when they won 24, drew seven, and lost four of their 35 matches in the league. This series of disappointing matches left Liverpool out of breath in the race to win tickets to the Champions League. They are currently eighth with 42 points, seven points behind fourth-place Tottenham and one game less.

In the immediate future, Klopp’s game is two other difficult matches, when he is a guest of Chelsea in round 8.

Guardiola: ‘Man City won perfectly against Liverpool’

“From the first minute to 93, it was the perfect performance,” Guardiola told BT Sport after the win at the Etihad.

“Even when we conceded, we played well. Of course, Liverpool was always a t/h/r/e/a/t on the counter-attack, but City played well in all three lines. This was one of the best performances in the game. my seven years at the club.”

Before Liverpool, Guardiola used Julian Alvarez to replace Haaland and was satisfied with the contribution of the Argentine striker. “Not only did he score, but he also assisted the second, and he was also involved in the third. Julian was involved in everything, and very smart on the ball. It’s no coincidence that he played alongside Messi in the Argentina national team. when winning the World Cup,” added the Man City coach.

Yesterday was Man City’s 100th victory at home in the English Premier League under Guardiola, in the 128th match here (16 draws and 12 losses remaining). This is a new record. Before Guardiola, manager Arsene Wenger needed 139 games to win 100 home victories with Arsenal.

Gundogan’s strike was also City’s 1000th goal under Guardiola, and Grealish then scored his 1001.

During Guardiola’s reign at Man City, Sergio Aguero scored the most goals with 124. Raheem Sterling (120), Gabriel Jesus (95), Kevin De Bruyne (77) and Mahrez (75). The biggest victory came in September 2019, when Man City crushed Watford 8-0 at the Etihad thanks to Aguero, De Bruyne, Mahrez, and Bernardo Silva’s hat-trick.